Kansas City Chiefs vs Pittsburgh Steelers Betting Preview/Prop Pick

>

 

— Sunday, January 16th Pittsburgh Steelers @ Kansas City Chiefs

There are three NFL Playoff games set to take place on Sunday, and the final game will feature the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kansas City is the number two seed in the AFC, while the Steelers are the number seven seed.

Kansas City finished the regular season with a record of 12-5, and that was good enough for another AFC West title. The Chiefs did miss out on the top overall seed in the AFC, and they will have to win at least one road game to win that conference.

Pittsburgh finished the season by going 2-1 in the final three games, and that was good enough to sneak them into the playoff field. The Steelers are likely playing with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for the final time.

The Kansas City Chiefs are 12.5-point betting favorites over the Pittsburgh Steelers in this Super Wild Card matchup. 

Steelers Struggling to Run

Running the football has been a major issue for the Steelers as they don’t usually get more than 80 rushing yards per game. Najee Harris did rack up 1200 yards and seven touchdowns this season, but he is most known for being a weapon in the passing game.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 3,740 yards and 22 touchdowns, but he has lost a step since his early days. “Big Ben” would love to deliver one more vintage performance for the Pittsburgh franchise. 

The Pittsburgh defense has been solid this season, but they are facing a massive test in this game. Linebacker T.J. Watt will need to get some pressure on Patrick Mahomes to slow down the Kansas City attack.

Kansas City Finally Getting Defense

The Kansas City defense struggled mightily to begin the year, but that unit responded about halfway through the year. Kansas City did give up 34 points to the Bengals in a Week 17 loss, but that unit put up some low numbers against some good teams. 

Patrick Mahomes did throw 13 interceptions this season, but he also tossed 37 touchdowns. Tyreek Hill had 111 receptions for 1,239 yards this season, but he is one of many weapons that the Chiefs have on offense. 

The Chiefs have overwhelmed teams with their offense in the postseason over the last few years, and they will look to do it again on Sunday.

Chiefs Cruise Past the Steelers

It took a near miracle for the Steelers to sneak into the postseason field, and this team just doesn’t have enough talent to make a serious run in the playoffs. Pittsburgh is too one-dimensional on offense, and that defense is going to struggle to stop Patrick Mahomes.

Kansas City has won the AFC Championship two years in a row, and they are once again the betting favorites this year. The Chiefs didn’t always look dominant throughout the regular season, but they are the best team in this matchup. 

Don’t expect this game to be close for long as the Steelers don’t have what it takes to keep up. Bet the Kansas City Chiefs -12.5 as the home team wins this game by 20 points at least to move into the Divisional Round.

Prop Pick

Pittsburgh (-115) UNDER 16.5 Points

Over the last nine weeks of the regular season, the Chiefs defense allowed an average of 13.8 points per game. That included holding the Steelers to only 10 points in Week 16 during a 36-10 KC victory at Arrowhead. Kanas City was a 10.5 point favorite for that game.

With the Chiefs once again favored by double digits and Dunkel predicting a KC win by the score of 27-10, take the Steelers (-115) to finish UNDER their Vegas team total of 16.5 points.

Keep up with your latest NFL news coverage and betting pick previews at The Dunkel Index.